Tarot Killer
by SuzySorrowLess
Summary: A therapist was killed in Washington and Aaron Hotchner get s in trouble, big trouble. And, having an relationship with a former callgirl, ist not very helpful in this case. But also Quinn Carson has to deal with ghosts of her past. Last but not least, there s this Detective, who has his very own reasons, to put Hotch in jail. In the end, will love survive?
1. Chapter 1

when I ended my first story, "bait" I felt like there was something else to tell about Quinn and Hotch and so I did this sequel. I do hope, You will enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing.

Disclaimer: I don´t own anything!

Dr. West was observing the hands of the clock. Even five minutes until her appointment. He would be on time, as always, her strange patient. He would enter her private practice, would say "good evening" and otherwise remain silent. Silent like a grave. She knew, he would like to be anywhere, but here.

Dr. West controlled her hair knot once again. She hated to look messy, she wore a pants suit and horn-rimmed glasses on her nose, which had a small bump, it looked like it was made for the glasses that sat on her. Three more minutes. For six weeks he visited her, obviously, because he had to. Once a week, at random times. To remain silent.  
Dr. West had had many patients, insecure ones, hysterics, obsessive-compulsive-disordered, the list could go on and on endlessly, but she had never seen anyone like this Mr. Hotchner.

Aaron Hotchner was still sitting in the car. He looked at the old brownstone house where Dr. Anna West had her private practice. The psychiatrist to whom he went for six weeks, just to say nothing at all, for fifty minutes. What should he talk about, no words would bring his wife back to life. Haley's death two months ago had made him speechless. He pulled himself together, when he was with Jack, the rest of the time he just was deaf and dumb to everything and everyone. He got out of the car, exactly 7 p.m. he entered the practice.

She was waiting, as always. In the first meetings she had tried to communicate with him, for the last four, she simply remained also silent. Why has she ever taken me as a patient, he wondered, her address was told him by a hotline that had listed psychiatrist with spare capacity. Strauss had offered him retirement, he categorically refused to accept, knowing he would go insane, without his work, he wasn´t sure, about going insane, anyway. Erin Strauss agreed his reinstatement to active duty for one condition, therapy. Aaron wanted someone, who was independent, with no connection to the bureau and so he ended up with Anna West.

This Anna West, who smiled at him now, "Good evening, Aaron, nice you're here. Today I want something else to try with you. She was opening a drawer and grabbing a deck of cards, as he sat down. No usual deck of cards, it was a Rider Tarot. Dr. West began shuffle cards. "Give me a "stop" when it feels right for you", she said. "What do you want me to do?" Hotch asked uncertainly, "I want you to give me a "stop", Aaron. If You don´t speak, then the cards will do for You." And so she had broken his silence.

ok, first chapter, done. Leave some review, if You like, it would be kind. Thanks (and don´t shoot me for the grammar)


	2. Two years later

"Hotchner" Aaron answered the phone in his office, he didn´t know the number, the display showed, it was already 10 p.m and he was on his way to visit Quinn. He was tired, but he wanted to see her, she made him feel comfortable. "Agent Hotchner? This is Anna West speaking." Hotch immediately remembered, he had talked to her for eight months, after Haley's death. With her card tricks she had cracked his silence and made him talk. "Dr. West, what can I do for you?" "I'm not sure if it is correct, what I'm doing, it's about one of my patients. I would love to speak with you in private , if that´s possible." Anna West sounded upset, Hotch thought. "It´s late, but I can come over if you want," he offered. "No, please. Maybe I dramatize anything, it is quite sufficient if you stop by tomorrow night, about 8 p.m?" "Well," said Aaron, "8 p.m".

Little over an hour later, he climbed up the stairs in Quinn's antique shop. She stood at the door, wearing something, Hotch was not sure if he could call this clothing at all. However, he was sure that the little bit of Nothing would also vanish identically. "Hello stranger," Quinn said and used his tie to pull him into the apartment. "You work too much, Aaron," Quinn said, a while later, "You can not catch all the bad guys." Her head was laying on his breast and her leg was bent over his hip. They were seeing each other for over three months now, they had met in a rather unusual way. Quinn enjoyed the time with the quiet, serious Aaron, who could also be so very different, like minutes ago, he was so open, when they made love, Quinn loved the way he touched and caressed her. He brought a different quality in her life, she felt safe with him. Hotch stroked her back, "You know what I do for a living, how difficult and cruel things sometimes are, Quinnie," he said softly. "I'm not complaining, Aaron, I just think you look tired." "Hm," Hotch muttered and proved that he didn´t just look that way. Quinn smiled, "good night, my dear," she said softly.

"Derek, please, this is not a good idea," said Emily Prentiss just 10 miles linear distance away. Derek laughed, "if we want to do what we want to do, then it's better if You let me take that off." He unbuttoned her blouse a little further and Prentiss escaped a pleasant sigh. How could she ever think she might be in love with Hotch, this feeling seemed so far away and so unreal for Emily. She replied Morgans kiss and pushed his shirt upwards, her hands moved over his chest, she could feel every single muscle of his stomach very clearly, "Good Lord, Morgan, are You just doing workouts in Your free time, or is there something else?" she asked with a grin, and Derek laughed again, "I can show you what I do otherwise, if you let me, Prentiss," Morgan was suddenly serious, "I don´t fool around, Em, I want you, I want you for so long." Prentiss thought of the past few weeks, while Derek had persistently wooed her without really reaching his final destination. "I want you too," Emily said, pulling him closer.

Rossi and Hotch entered the elevator together. Dave studied Hotch extensively, "Jack or Quinn?" he asked. "Jack was sleeping over at a friend", Aaron said, stifling a yawn. Rossi laughed, "Well, so You are dealing with the pleasant things of life again, I can skip the speed-dating, I guess." Aaron's mouth twitched slightly upwards, but he saved his comments. They just left the elevator, when Chief Strauss voice was heard, "Agent Hotchner, may we have a word, please!" "Good luck," Dave muttered and Hotch turned angrily. "Chief, what can I do for you?" "Nothing for me, actually, Agent Hotchner. There is a Detective from the Washington Police Department sitting in my office, asking me about connections You have with Dr. Anna West." Strauss gave Hotch a sharp look. "That's a private matter, ma'am," Hotch said stiffly and followed Strauss into her office. The detective stood up, "Detective Clay Mueller, WPD, You are SSA Hotchner?" Hotch nodded, "What is this about?" "Last night at 10 p.m. You had a conversation with Dr. West on the phone", " Is there a question in Your statement, Detective Mueller?" Hotch asked Mueller reserved and Mueller realized that this is wasn´t going to be easy. "We know that Dr. West has called you, Agent Hotchner. What did you talk about and what is your relationship with Dr. West?" "Give me a reason why I should tell you this, Detective," Aaron was not inclined to cooperate without more information. "Where have You been, last night between 0 and 1 a.m.?" "You´re asking my agent for an alibi?" chimed Strauss, who had followed the conversation. "Yes, ma'am," Mueller replied. "Dr. West was found murdered this morning by her assistant."

"Hey," Morgan said to Rossi, "Hotch is not here yet?" "Strauss has called him in her office," said Dave. "Trouble?" Morgan wanted to know, "don´t know, you know how Strauss is." Morgan nodded, "Inedible."

Mueller slammed the crime scene photos to Strauss table, "Dr. West was killed brutally, Agent Hotchner, beaten to death. You know how that is, beating someone until he´s dead, right Agent Hotchner?" Aaron did not say a word, turned and left the office. "This is not over yet, Hotchner," Mueller said grimly. "Oh, yes, Detective, that's it. If you have any further questions to SSA Hotchner, then you will have to summon him. Goodbye, Detective Mueller." The section Chief stared at Mueller until he left. She didn´t like Hotchner, she always regarded him as a threat to her job. She knew, the Director would immediately make Hotchner Section Chief, if he showed some interest. But he was her employee, and he has been attacked. One being attacked means, they all were. And in this case, they all stayed together as one and all of them stroke back as one.  
"Garcia!" Penelope was shocked when Hotch approached her from behind, very rudely. "Yes, boss?" "Dr. Anna West, I want everything You can find out about her and I want that asap" Hotch was already gone. As if I would ever linger, pen thought, what had come merely to Hotch? For a few weeks, he was, by his standards, almost deeply relaxed. Garcia suspected that was because of Quinn Carson, the platinum blonde, with whom he met. Garcia didn´t consider her suitable, but who was she, to tell the boss, whom to date. "Anna West, who are you?" Garcia asked loudly and began her research.


	3. the EMPEROR

Without a single word Hotch rushed into his office. He blamed himself. He had heard that Dr. West was concerned, yet he had not insisted to come over. Because it was more important to me, to lay Quinn, he thought angrily.

"Aaron? What was it, Strauss wanted from you?" Dave had come to the office and sat down on a visitor's chair. Hotch did not please him, it looked as if something was bothering him. He also had been rude to Garcia, Rossi had overheard a conversation between Morgan and Pen. "Hotch, I'm talking to you," said Rossi, still there was no response from him. "Boss?" Garcia stood irresolutely at the door, "I can come back later, but You said it's urgent." Hotch nodded, "come in and close the door." She sat next to Rossi, "There is not a lot about Dr. West," Garcia said, "1949 born in New Haven, Connecticut, the only child, Yale student, summa cum laude, a doctor´s degree in clinical psychiatric and Psychology. Her private practice here in DC had been opened 20 years ago. No abnormalities in her tax records, never married, no children. And since last night, dead as a doornail," Garcia added after a short pause. "She was killed tonight in their practice, they found a tarot card on her corpse, " the EMPEROR". "

"What's going on up there?" Prentiss asked. She stood at her desk, surrounded by Morgan and Reid, everyone was looking at Hotch's office. "I have no idea, Rossi told us, Strauss wanted to talk to Hotch. When he came back, he yelled at Garcia, wanted information about a Dr. West and now they barricaded themselves in Hotch´s office." Reid told everything he knew.

Hello, Miss Carson," said the postal worker as he entered Quinn's shop. "Hi Luke, something important you have got today?" Quinn wanted to know, "bills, as always," Luke laughed, "a postcard from Bristol and a registered letter. How does Bristol enjoy Europe?" "She loves Rome, when I was at High School, we didn´t have the opportunity, to spend a junior year abroad," Quinn laughed and signed for the letter. "Bye, Luke," "Bye, Miss Carson." "Who would send me a registered letter, Quinn thought, and turned the envelope, no return address. She grabbed the letter opener and something slipped out of the envelope. A little black book and a note came to light, Aquinna Carson took a deep breath, what do they say about secrets? They´re dead and buried, but there is alway an idiot, and there is always a shovel.

"You do know Dr. West?" asked Rossi surprised and Hotch nodded. "When Haley died and Strauss wanted me to retire, I refused to", "I remember," Dave replied. "I was allowed to go back to active duty, under one condition, therapy. Straus was very relentless, so to speak. I decided to give it a try." "And You ended up with Dr. West," concluded Garcia, "Last night I was called by Anna West, she wanted to talk to me in private, we had an appointment for today. It was about one of her patients, she didn´t say much about it." "And why did Strauss ask You about that, that´s a private matter." Rossi wanted to know, "That´s no longer private, because of Det. Clay Mueller who is with the Washington PD. He was asking for my whereabouts this night." Garcia gave it a short laugh, "Your´re kidding, right, he wasn´t asking for an alibi?", Rossi had a very odd feeling, there was something else to come. "Mueller knew about the call, he showed the crime scene photos to me and I noticed the Tarot card immediately. If Mueller had a look at my medical record, and I am sure, he did, then he knows that West and I did work with such cards and of course he also knows about Foyet. West was beaten to death, just like Foyet." Garcia opened her eyes widely, "and that makes You suspect numero uno!" "Porca miseria," Rossi said to confirm. "You took the words right out of my mouth," Hotch murmured dryly. "You told me, You were with Quinn, she will confirm your alibi, don´t you think?" Rossi had remembered the conversation in the elevator. "Quinn's shop is just 3 blocks away from West's practice, I could easily manage to disappear shortly, crack West's skull and return back to her warm and cosy bed, like nothing has happened. Besides, I do not want Quinn to get caught up in the affair, with her background, she isn´t credible at all." Penelope was totally upset, "the others must know about it, if there is someone out there, aiming at You. You can´t keep Reid, Morgan and Prentiss in the dark." Rossi agreed, "Garcia is right." Aaron got up and left his office. "Small conference room, right now," he said to the strained group near Emily's desk.

There was total silence in the conference room, while Hotch told his story. Reid was the first to speak up. "Let's talk about the Tarot card, the EMPEROR is the fourth card of the Major Arcana, which consists 22 cards. Traditionally, the EMPEROR is the father figure, he is the leader. He is a person of respect and can not be easily influenced. He is very clear and straight and not always well liked. He protects and defends what is his. ""No wonder that you are a suspect for Mueller, it´s like this tarot card is yelling Hotchner all over" Em said frustrated, "You have been threatened lately, or is there something you noticed what was not like usual?" Morgan asked, "or is there a former "business partner" of Quinn, You came too close?" Rossi was continuing. Hotch took a deep breath, "it's ok, if you call them suitor, Dave. We all know what Quinn did for a living. The answer to all three questions is no." "And how did You and West do that card thing?" Prentiss asked. "Usually, the medium shuffles cards and asks her client so tell her stop when it feels right for the client. The medium takes the card, that´s on top and starts to put them on the table. There are different ways to interpret ..." "She has put them cross-like, Reid" Spencer was interrupted by Hotch. "She told me what she saw, and then we talked about it." "Was she right?" Garcia asked, "mostly, she was good. I have no idea how she did it."

Why did you send me that, Anna, Quinn thought, this was Pandora's box, she didn´t want that responsibility. She wondered if she should talk to Hotch about it, she trusted him, now. A few weeks ago it was quite different. There had to be a reason why Anna wanted to get rid of her notebook. Quinn wanted to grab the phone and call her, but she considered different. She closed the store, got into her car and drove to another part of town in order to look for a phone booth. Fifteen minutes later she heard the ringing sign from the other end of the line. "Yes?" she heard a male voice answering Anna´s phone. Shit, Quinn thought, that has to be police. "Excuse me, I wanted to talk to Dr. West, have I got a wrong number? My name is," Quinn's eyes fell on a billboard, "Kelly King, I wanted to ask for an appointment." "This is Officer James, Dr. West does not offer appointments any more." "Then I'll have someone else to call, thank you." Quinn hung up. She leaned her forehead against the cold glass. Shit, shit shit. What happened, she thought. Quinn didn´t want to be pulled back, in something that once was her past. But Anna had been a true friend to her, back then, when her parents died and she had to take care of her little sister Bristol.

so, what do you think about it? Some response would be great, just let me know.


	4. the DEVIL

"Don´t get stuck into this idea, Mueller," said Lt. Briggs critical. Mueller struck him as overly ambitious, apparently he was convinced that Hotchner had killed Dr. West. Briggs couldn´t understand that, he knew Hotchner, he had dealt with him on several occasions. Briggs didn´t believe that he had been mistaken in the profiler. "You won´t do anything without telling me, did I make myself clear, Detective?" "I want this arrest warrant, Lt. Briggs. Hotchner was West's patient, they have worked with these cards, incidentally Hotchner was the only one who worked with West in this way, he spoke to her the night she died and West had this Tarot thing on her corpse." "Three words," Briggs said, "means, motive, opportunity. Clarify all three, and we continue to talk." Briggs ended the conversation and left. Mueller kicked at his desk, "bloody idiot!"

With a black wig and a trench Quinn entered the club. He seemed insignificant, unimportant, normal. Superficially. But, scratching on the surface a little bit, you could see what kind of clientage had opted for this club. Quinn felt cold, this special way of finding sexual fulfillment wasn´t her cup of tea. She entered through a small archway and knocked at a wooden door. Not waiting for response, she entered. "Dominic," she said loudly, interrupting his trifling with a redhead. "Get out!" He said sharply to the redheaded girl and gave her a pat on the butt. He offered Quinn one of his huge, dark red plush armchairs. "Violet, Violet, Violet, still as dramatic as ever. What can I do for you? Don´t You say you decided to join me on the "dark side?" Dominic showed his predatory grin as he said this. Quinn laughed, "I don´t think you could ever pay me that much, to lead me into temptation." "Then what is it?" Quinn became serious, "I'm here because of Lady Anna," Dom nodded, "You've heard already, evil things, that happen. How do you know about it?" "I still have my sources, Dominic," Quinn took care, not to speak of Anna's notebook. "Do you know what happened? Are there any suspects?" He got up from his desk and sat down in front of Quinn on the edge of the table. "Even if you don´t like to hear that, Vi, let go. You're out of business, don´t be the idiot with the shovel." "Anna was a good friend of mine, I can´t let go. So tell me, Dom."

Dom hesitated before sharing his knowledge to Violet, "my little bird has told me that Anna tonight was killed brutally. They found a tarot card on her body, there is already a suspect, interestingly, one of the FBI, Hooter, or something like that." Quinn paled, "Hotchner?" she asked, almost inaudibly, "You know him?" Dominic was surprised, "I thought so," Quinn was still hard to understand.  
She was still stunned when she returned to her apartment and sat on the sofa. What the bloody hell Hotch did at Anna´s place? When they were making love, Aaron was caring and loving, he was a considerate and gentle lover, he never had any unusual demands, though he knew that she was a former call girl. Just the idea that Aaron liked to be tortured, beaten and / or to be tied up was absurd. On the other hand, some of her customers, the alpha males, needed this kind of treatment to come down. Quinn sent off most of them, she wasn´t against role-playing, but mere violence went too far. Quinn poured herself a vodka, drank and filled the glass again. I have to talk to Hotch, as soon as possible, she thought.

"How far are you?" Emily asked, putting her last record aside. "Not far enough," said Rossi, and helped himself to a cup of coffee. "This is nothing," Morgan was annoyed, "our suspects are still in jail, or almost dead" "There is really is no one You can think of, Hotch?" Reid drilled again. Hotch threw a file across the table, "I do not know, maybe I suffer from dropouts and kill people on a regular basis!" "Thank god, Mueller is not listening to that, Agent Hotchner," Strauss entered the conference room, she was carrying several pizza boxes in her hand. "What do we have?"

It was 2 a.m. when Hotch finally got home and unlocked his door. In the living room a small lamp was burning beside the couch, someone had made herself comfortable on. "Quinn?" Hotch asked quietly, and gently stroked her arm. She did not move, Hotch had to smile, Quinn always slept like a log. "Quinnie, wake up," he said softly, and she finally sat up. "Hotch", "what are you doing here, it's in the dead of night, Quinn." "Jess let me in, before she left with your boy, I needed to talk to you urgently." Aaron took a deep breath, "very bad timing, darling," "Aaron, this is important, I need to ask you a question and I will ask You just once, did I make myself clear?" Hotch realized how seriously she meant that. "What do you want to know?" "Have you ever enjoyed being beaten?" Aaron's face was one big question mark, "Of course I was already involved in fights every now and then, not every one of our suspects surrenders, I don´t not know, what You´re up to?" "That´s not the way I ment it, damn it, Aaron, how direct do You want me to be? Have You ever visited a dominatrix?" Hotch sat silently on the little table near the couch. "Why do You ask me such a question? What kind of person do You think, I am?" he asked after a while, shaken. "Then why have You been with Anna West, what did You want from her?" "Why do you know Dr. West? Quinn, is dead," Quinn nodded, "that I know and I also know that the police suspects you to be involved." "Where from?" "That´s something, You don´t want to know, Aaron," Quinn was not ready to talk. Hotch grabbed her by her upper arms, "You will tell me everything you know, everything Quinn, I´m not kidding."

Quinn turned the whiskey glass in her hand. She sat cross-legged on the sofa. "Anna and I have known us for 14 years. My parents had just had an accident and I was alone with Baby-Bristol. At some point I was so broke, I couldn´t go on without any help." "Anna West?" Quinn nodded, "she recognized my financial plight, our parents had left us, well, purely nothing, Bris and I were about to crawl into the arms of social service. Anna has shown me a way, she initiated me into their secrets." Quinn paused and Aaron filled her glass once again. "Secrets? What kind?" "Anna has been working as a dominatrix for years. She passed on her knowledge to me. You you can´t just put on a latex dress, or a corset dress and get started, if you understand what I mean?" Hotch nodded, Quinn had abysses that he had never thought about. He didn´t think about her past, when they were together. She was an other person, back then, wasn´t she? "I realized very quickly that this kind of ...service wasn´t exactly my cup of tea. Anna then made contact for me with Holly, I was working for her, until I finished. Anna and I kept in touch, she was some kind of replacement for my mother. This morning I received a message from her, she was afraid of someone. ""Did she tell you who scared her?" Quinn shook her head. "I was called by her last night, before I left the office. She wanted to talk to me. Confidential, it was about a patient. Dr. West and I were just doctor and patient, when my wife died 2 years ago." Hotch wanted to make clear the nature of his relationship with West. It hurt that Quinn was thinking, he would have employed her particular offering. He was just putting his relationship with Quinn in question, when this was over, they would have to talk, very seriously.

"That doesn´t look very well for Hotch," Emily said and stroked Derek's bare chest. He put his arm tightly around her, "You don´t believe that Hotch would do such things right?" "No," Em said confidently, "but someone wants it to look exactly like that. And we need to find that someone, as soon as possible." "But not tonight, Prentiss," Derek began to kiss her neck and shoulders and Emily's hand moved southward. Morgan groaned, "God, Emily", "what", Emily asked innocently, "I haven´t done anything yet."

"Mueller?" asked the young officer, who had just entered the precinct "I've got something for you", he handed the detective a small envelope. "Where did You get this?" The officer shrugged, "I was just a boy, no idea who it was." Mueller pulled on his gloves and opened the letter carefully. He slipped out a tarot card, "the DEVIL"

Quinn is about to step back into her past, very bad idea, don´t You think?


	5. the TOWER

"Damn it, Briggs, what else you need? Does it get any clearer? I did some research, I know, what the DEVIL means! He is the fallen comrade of God, he always comes up with lying and cheating, black mailing and it marks the downfall, in it´s genuine. Murder is a mortal sin if I belief in my priest, and hell, I do." Mueller had talked himself into a rage, he was really pissed off, Briggs made no attempt to demand that fucking warrant for Hotchner. "This is the last time, I will tell you what we have, Mueller. In West´s office there are no traces of DNA that match Hotchner, we run them through the internal database of the FBI, if you have not noticed that. And, which motive could he possibly have?" Briggs was getting angry about his detective, very slowly. Mueller was going out on a limb. "He is fucking a hooker, which makes him the perfect one to be blackmailed don´t you think?" Mueller was not ready to give in. He put the file on his desk, "Aquinna Carson, also known as "Violet", two arrests, no charges, no convictions. According to my informant, she requires 5000 for a fuck and has slept with half of the Congress members." Briggs grabbed the file, "here is also a note, that Miss Carson is running an antique shop for over a year, now, Mueller, You are overzealous, just be careful what You say." Briggs left the open-plan office and picked up the phone, "we need to talk, right away."

Half an hour later Briggs stood at Hotch´s door, "Hello Aaron, you are in quite a big mess here, ist that clear to You?" "Almost crystal clear, Tim, you can believe me. Do You know Miss Carson?" Briggs shook his head, "I'm not sure whether I should know Miss Carson, I don´t mean that personally." "I don´t mind," said Quinn, she was well aware of how difficult the situation was. "I know, I don´t need to say that, but I've never been here," said Briggs, "and now you tell me what is actually going on."  
Briggs listened quiet, to what Hotch and Quinn had to tell. "This Dominic-guy, from the "Nocturne", he told You the name of his informant?" "He would never do that," Quinn said. "And Dr. West has been working at this club?" "That would have been an exception. At Anna´s place, it was discreet, there was always the option to pretend being a patient, and being a patient is less humiliating than to admit to be turned on by licking other people's boots." Quinn said dryly. Once again this evening Hotch began to ask himself whether he knew Quinn at all. Quinn remarked Aaron´s look at her and knew what it meant. She was losing him, she could just see it in hin eyes, he was looking at Violet right now, not at her, Quinn. Quinn had to cry, with a muttered "sorry" she fled into Hotch´s bathroom. "You should go after her, Aaron," said Briggs, "I'm trying to chain Mueller to his desk, until You have all the answers. I'm sure you have nothing to do with that murder at all. I´ll find my way out." Briggs left Aaron´s apartement.

Hotch could hear her cry, actually it was not crying, it was more of an unrestrained sobbing that came out of the bathroom. "Go away," she said, as he entered the bathroom. I've hurt her again, Hotch thought, that time before he had only seen anger in her eyes, this time it was desperation. And this despair weighed so much heavier than her anger. "Quinn," he said softly, she sat on the floor, leaning against the bathtub. Hotch sat down next to her, he pulled her into his arms and tried to calm her down a bit, Quinn's sobs became a little quieter, "Aaron," she whispered softly. He pulled her up and carried her into the bedroom. He freed her of her clothes slowly, for each piece that he took off her, he took off a piece of his clothing as well. They made love to each other softly, almost desperately, as if they wanted their past to be forgotten by this act, no sound left Quinn's lips when he was caressing her breasts, he kissed, sucked, he was rolling her nipple between his fingers, Quinn bent for him, a little later Aaron was laying on his back and Quinn sat on him. She covered his erection with her hand and drove him a bit further before she was leading him there, where she wanted him to be, where he belonged. Aaron enjoyed their tightness, he struck his hips against her. His hands cupped her buttocks, he helped her finding her pace and supported her slow and sensual movements with his hands, Hotch gasped, Quinn was always taking a little break, to cause his peak a little delay. It took a while for her to grant him salvation, Aaron came with a loud groan. In that moment Quinn fell on his chest. "Aaron" her voice was just a breath, Hotch felt his chest getting wet, Quinn was crying again, he held her firmly and swayed her gently back and forth. "Shhh," he said and Quinn fell asleep.

Aaron could not sleep, his thoughts were circling around West and the stranger who was trying to ruin his life. Probably I am missing the forest for the trees, he thought. He still kept Quinn firmly embraced, could it have something to do with her? Although Hotch tried to handle her past as past, there would always be situations in which it would stand between them. And Jack? He also carried responsibility for his child. He stroked her back, actually, it was too late, he had feelings for Quinn, which he didn´t want to deny. "You never told me where You have those scars from," Quinn woke up and stroked his chest. "Is that the reason, You had to see Anna?" "It has to do with it, but it was mainly because of my wife. Haley was killed by the man who has hurt me. And I killed him," Hotch said after a while. "I killed him before he killed Jack too." "And because Anna was slayed, Mueller thinks You are responsible? He is such an idiot, that will never work out."

Aaron's doorstep dissolved with a loud crash from the entrenchment, Mueller was storming the apartment with two armed cops and entered the bedroom, "I'm sorry for interrupting Your sweet togetherness, Aaron Hotchner, I am arresting you for the murder of Anna West." He flicked a tarot card in Hotch´s bed, "Game over, honey," he said to Quinn, she held the card in her hand and stared at Mueller. It was the TOWER

some comments would really be great, come on, guys...


	6. the MOON

"And then he arrested Aaron," concluded Quinn her report in the conference room of the BAU. "The UnSub used the cards definitely as whistle-blowers," Reid said," but the question is, is he connected with tarot himself, or is it just a way of discrediting Hotch?"  
"I do not think the guy sticks in the topic," Quinn said, "most of the cards must be viewed in context. You can always find one individual that fits your situation, but this is not, what You would call serious Tarot reading, at all. For most of the people the tower is the worst card in the deck","I thought that would be DEATH? "Prentiss asked. Quinn shook her head, "DEATH is not what it seems. In very few cases it announces a real death of a real person, usually it refers to a natural ending of things, a relationship, a job, but the TOWER, it´s complete different, it stands for a violent, brutal change, you remark that the lightning strikes at its peak? People fall down, everything is destroyed, what you builded." "In our case, Hotch should lose everything, his job, his reputation, he could also lose Jack." Reid concluded, "Our UnSub must have an immense hatred for Hotch, why can´t we find him?"

"Number 5," the man said firmly. "Are you sure," asked Mueller, the man nodded again, "sure," "Thank you, Mr. Hayes, you still need to sign your statement." Mueller looked at Briggs triumphantly, "I knew it, damn it!"

Hotch put down the card with the number 5, and was leaded from an officer in the interrogation room. Good, Hotch thought, now you've made a mistake. Things were happening not fast not enough for the UnSub, so it had to appear an eye-witness like the proverbial rabbit hopping out of the hat. Mueller entered the room. "In the end, we get them all, Hotchner." Hotch remained silent, he wanted to know what Mueller had to say and why I he wanted him to be the perpetrator, Hotch thought. "You have been seen at the scene, at the relevant time." Hotch remained still silent, he had played these games a very long time and even more successful than Mueller. "Your bitch can save her lies for good. How does it feel, to have sex, so with a person like her? Does she ask you for your special demands, when You do it, or is she just laying on her back? How can You ever be sure, she isn´t faking it?" Hotch almost laughed, Mueller was a bloody beginner, he would never come to anything at all.

"Supposedly there is an eye-witness," said Rossi, who entered the meeting room. "Excuse me?" Morgan could not believe what Dave was saying. "That´s complete rubbish, Aaron was with me, all night. Who the hell would that be?" Quinn was confused, was everyone going insane? She had considered her former job as strange, but what happened here, was topping that in many ways. "I don´t know any name, the question now is, should we try to bail Hotch out, or is he safe where is he?" Quinn grabbed her cell phone. "Dom? This is Violet, you have to do me a favor," she said and left the conference room, passing by Strauss, the platinum blonde with the visitor's badge casted the Section Chief a wry look. "That wasn´t Miss Carson, wasn´t she?" Honestly, Strauss didn´t really want to know.

Barely ten minutes later, Quinn walked back to the conference room. "I have to go," she said and Derek grabbed her upper arm, "You don´t do no bad stuff, Quinn. We are solving the case our own way," "and how far did that get You, till now? Hotch is still in the soup and all You do is just talk." She shook off Morgan's hand, "the time for talking is over," Quinn left the room quick.

Three hours later, Violet again entered the "Nocturne", "Don´t make that a bad habit Vi" grinned Dominic. "Your "present" is hanging in the red salon, does it bother You if I accompany you?" She knew what makes Dominic happy. "It will be an honor for me, Dom," Violet smiled and opened the door to the red room. "Please," begged the man who was totally naked and handcuffed to a hook on the ceiling. His toes were barely touching the ground, on his head he had a hood. "What do you want from me? Do you want money? I'll give you everything you want, Oh, God!" The man's voice trembled with fear and Dominic´s lips wryed in amusement. "It´s not the money, what I want," whispered Violet to the hood and touched the man with her gloved hands gently at his chest, then on his back until he had calmed down a bit, her voice was soft as velvet and honey-sweet, "I want you to talk." Ron Hayes screamed as the whip sharply bites his thigh.

"I bow in reverence," Dominic said, half an hour later, "You should consider a change of profession, don´t waste Your talent, selling antiques, Violet. What shall I do with him?" "I would like to say, do with him what you want,but I suspect you would do just that." Dominic laughed out loud, "how well you know me yet, my dear, what exactly do you have in mind?" Violet grinned and it was not a nice smile, "I think it's time to send a message. Put him off in front of the 54th precinct, and make sure that this is noticed." She handed him the MOON. "Ah," Dom said, "deceit", do you think that is to be understood?" "Oh yes, I think so," Violet said firmly.


	7. SEVEN OF SWORDS

"Mueller has requested the warrant without my personal permission" Briggs said to Rossi and Prentiss at the precinct, "which will have consequences for him." "Since when is Detective Mueller working for You, Tim?" Emily asked, "for about a year. Previously he acted completely normal, regular arrests, no excessive use of violence, nothing. You think he has something to do with it?" Rossi now spoke very softly, "we are currently reviewing it. Fact is that he is fixated on Hotch for whatever two never met, as far as we know, but he is the best suspect we have."

"Lt. Briggs, you should take a look at this," said Officer James, pointing to Ron Hayes, who was swaying through the door to get inside. On his forehead, someone glued a tarot card, "I'd like to revise a statement," he said shakily. Rossi and Prentiss looked at each other, they both had the same thought, Violet. Obviously, she now tried to beat the UnSub in his own game. She sent a very clear message, with Hayes and the MOON, "the witness is a liar and I know that" For Rossi and Prentiss she was confirming the suspicions against Mueller, obviously Hayes had talked. He did not look like he was badly injured, but obviously he was shaken to his foundations. "Mr. Hayes, you've decided to do the right thing?" Briggs asked, smiling, "why don´t you sit down and we talk about it." Hayes groaned, "I'd rather like to stand, if it´s okay with You," Emily just made big eyes, "She did to him, what I think she did?" "Moreover, you'd have to tell me what you think," Rossi said as quietly as Prentiss, trying to keep a straight face.

"This line-up, hours ago, I'm not sure if that was really the man I´ve seen. I said it was number 5, but I mean, it was dark and the dog has dragged on a leash, it was just dark ... , okay?" "You make this statement voluntarily?" asked Briggs, Hayes nodded, "maybe you should remove the card from Your forehead," Briggs continued, "or is there a very good reason for wearing this?" "ga-gang members, they were ah-" stammered Hayes, how could he get into that shit? he 10 grands had just simply been too tempting, the guy, who was asking him for a favour, said it would be easy earned money, there was no talk at all about this bitch with the whip, Hayes felt once again the ice-cold shiver, that run down his back, her voice was so, wow, and then she had suddenly used that damn whip, his butt was burning like hell, not to mention his thighs and his back. So he spoke, told her everything she wanted to know and a lot more. But the worst part was what happened at the end, her last words to him were "that you've done very well if you want to come now, then I will allow you to," and to his own private horror he had done just that.

"Coffee wouldn´t be bad," Hotch said, he was sitting still calmly with Mueller in the interrogation room. Mueller, he was on the simmer, because nothing went the way it should. "That's it, Agent Hotchner You are free to leave." Lt. Briggs was entering the room. "Mueller, shut up, your eye-witness has just fallen over." "He isn´t," snapped Mueller and didn´t want to give way for Hotch, "He was returning to the precinct twenty minutes ago, with a big fat "liar" written on his forehead. Looks as if lady luck has turned in Hotchners direction, Mueller. I don´t want to hear another word about it now, we'll talk later." Lt. Briggs was tired of discussing again and again with his detective. "We regret the inconvenience, Agent Hotchner."

Have they already released Aaron?", Quinn had entered the precinct and talked to Rossi from behind. "Briggs takes care of it right now, there was no need to be rough with the witness," Rossi said. "Hayes was approached three days ago from an unknown man. He offered him 10 grands, for a "little favor", good old Ron imprudently has agreed to do so. According to the description Hayes gave me I would make a guess on Mueller. Hayes has spoken of a beard, the man was having but nothing easier than that. And how far did you get?" asked Quinn harmless, "we are trying to stick with the official work, not torture, Miss Carson," Quinn laughed, "he enjoyed a treatment for which he would normally have to pay a considerable amount of cash and I allowed him to come, this was more than he deserved." Prentiss slipped out a quiet "Oh God," she wavered between amusement and shock. Quinn laughed again, "Ron is now open to new horizons, he will be grateful to me someday." Rossi briefly had the question in mind, what Aaron and Quinn probably did likewise in their bedroom, but decided that he would rather not know. Not really.

"Hotch," enthused Prentiss when he appeared together with Briggs. "Are you okay?" Hotch nodded, "let's go outside," he said. Together they left the precinct.

Mueller sat at his desk, pissed off. Why did this idiot change his statement? Offering him 10 grands had not been enough? Meanwhile Mueller regretted the effort he had made to bring Hotchner in jail, I should have killed him straight away, he thought. His eyes fell on a file, something colorful pointed out of it. He opened it cautiously. This dirty bitch, he thought, as he saw the SEVEN OF SWORDS.

GAME OVER, baby, Violet had written on the back.


	8. the DEATH

This fucking bitch, Mueller thought again, she had turned around Hayes, it could not be otherwise, Hayes has been swallowed by the earth since. And the fact that she had leaked the SEVEN OF SWORDS to him, she was obviously thinking she was clever. But, she was going to make exactly the same mistake that he had made, she did not go the direct route. The swords indicated that someone did not show his true colors and had criminal tendencies. You could look at this in different ways. However, he was surprised that he was still running around freely. Briggs had reprimanded him and suspended him for a week, but nothing more had happened. Why did it take so long for the hooker to do something, or why was she doing nothing? He had to find out, absolutely.

Violet cleaned up and closed her shop. She did it carefully, her visitor should not appear surprisingly, he should come through the back door. She was sure that Mueller would come. The card, right under his nose, and the disappearance of Hayes was enough material for him to think. She wanted to offer him a partnership, baiting him a little bit more. If he really wanted to get rid of Hotch, he could use the help of someone who was close on him.

Mueller watched Carson Antiques for quite a while. She was cleaning up and closing the entrance. In the area, everything looked normal. He decided to bring the matter to an end, at first the hooker, then Hotchner.

Violet sat on tenterhooks, she was relieved when she finally heard the footsteps on the back stairs. "You kept me waiting quite a long time, Mueller, if that is your real name." Violet smiled at him and handed him a glass of vodka. "Sit down and don´t You look so surprised. I could have busted you already, if I wanted to." Why did you not do it? "Asked Mueller. Violet laughed," Your game has amused me, I wanted to know what else you've got. Frankly, I am cheesed off this all here. Too bourgeois. It was fun to make Your purchased witness talk." " What have you done to him?' "Who knows?" Violet laughed again, "You thought ten thousand were enough?" "Yes, I really thought. Unfortunately, that was probably a stupid idea, but Briggs has left me no choice, he would not apply for the warrant." "I can also tell you why, Hotchner and Briggs know each other," Violet said, and pointed to his gun, "Don´t You think, it would be time to put this away? "  
Mueller handed her the glass, "just refill the glass," Violet did him the favor. "Why do You want to bring Hotchner down, so necessarily?" "He is responsible for the death of my brother", "Your brother? This is obviously a good reason. What has he done to him?" "Why would that concern you, sweetheart? That´s none of Your business." "You confuse me just a bit, Mueller. I thought I had made it clear to You that I won´t deliver You to justice." Violet said.

"There is one thing, I can´t figure out, Hotchner and You, it´s an relationship, isn´t it?", Violet shrugged, "Hotchner is replaceable, we have sex, not even particularly good, as I said, boring life, boring lover. A friend offered me a partnership. In his club, we could need someone who does the "donkeywork", if You know, what I mean. That´s why I thought about You, spontaneously. Did you know who Anna West really was?" Mueller sat down in a chair, "She was Hotchners therapist after my brother had killed his wife, he confided in her and it seemed just right to kill her, like Hotchner killed George. It was easy to get close to her as a patient and sneak her out. That tarot game West and Hotchner played was an invitation for me to start this thing. It was a great satisfaction to see Hotchners face when I told him he was arrested and handcuffed him," "unfortunately this feeling wasn´t to last long enough, wasn´t it, Mueller?" Violet said acidly. "I think that's enough now," she said aloud. "I think so, anyway," replied Clay Mueller, his correct name was Clay Foyet, actually. He stood up, raised his gun and shot Quinn into the chest. "I do not work with partners," he said, when she collapsed.

Oh, I really like cliffhangers, what about You?


	9. the LOVERS?

"Damn it!" Aaron said loudly, breaking with a SWAT team into Quinn's apartment.

The plan had sounded logical. When they left the precinct together, Quinn talked about the card and the message that she had left Mueller. There was nothing provable, what they had in hand, the judge would throw them out of court immediately. They needed a confession from Mueller and Quinn wanted to help them. Aaron didn´t like that Quinn again hat to slip into Violet's role, for his taste it was way too easy for her. When she told him how she made Hayes talk, it sounded to him as if she was talking about a tea party with friends. Hayes wouldn´t suffer any permanent damage, she said, the marks would be gone the next day. Hotch did not want himself to imagine how Hayes was hanging from the ceiling, scared to death, being hit by Quinn with that whip.

"FBI, drop the weapon, Mueller!" Hotch yelled and threw a quick look at Quinn. She was laying on the ground and did not move. Mueller looked blankly, she had actually let him walk into a trap, this dirty bitch. "Okay, okay, he said, putting the gun slowly on the floor. From his point of view, that was the best he could do. Rossi handcuffed him and Briggs read him his rights.

"Quinn? Quinnie, for God's sake, wake up!" Hotch tore her blouse and Quinn moaned painful, "Shit, Aaron, didn´t You tell me, it doesn´t hurt?" "I probably lied," Aaron said facilitated and helped her up. "But Kevlar is great!" He peeled her carefully out of that the bulletproof vest that she wore under her blouse. She gave Mueller an angry look, "You really thought, it's that easy?" Mueller just shrugged his shoulders and Briggs tossed him away. "That was a pretty good job," Rossi said, and nodded at Quinn. "We care about the guy, you stay with Quinn," added Prentiss and left the apartment.

"Should I call a doctor?" Hotch asked anxiously, Quinn was still breathing heavily. She shook her head, "I am all right, you're doing something like that every day?" She has never been aware of the risk Aaron was taking when he was leaving the house in the morning. "Here," he handed her a soda, "You´re kidding me, right? I need something much stronger than that" Quinn took up the vodka bottle and helped herself generously. She hugged Hotch, "I'm glad it's over," she said with relief and kissed him tenderly. "We need to talk, Quinn," Hotch sounded very serious. "I know," Quinn took a deep breath, she knew exactly what was coming.

"Damn, Mueller!" Lt. Briggs yelled at his subordinate, "You're a cop! How could you ever fall through the cracks?" Mueller saw no reason to lie. Game over, he thought. "My mother never told me who my father was. On my birth certificate there was "father unknown", I never knew where I belonged, I had no one at all! When my mother died, I found letters from a Joseph Foyet from which emerged quite clearly that he is my father. I was looking for relatives and came across my brother. Just when I wanted to contact him, Hotchner had killed him. My only living relative! He had to pay for that, he had to." Mueller had talked himself into a rage. "George Foyet was a serial killer, Mueller, you know that? And Hotchner did not kill him randomly, he killed him in self-defense. But that's probably not getting into your sick brain. We have your confession on tape, it is just being typed," Briggs tried to calm down a bit, the thing had stirred him, one of his officers was a crazy murderer and he had not the slightest idea.

Dominic isn´t going to hear a 'safeword' from me tonight at the club, he has to be rough, to ensure I even begin to forget, thought Tim Briggs. "I think Your lawyer has arrived," he said and left the interrogation room.

"Everything all right with you," Morgan asked the police officer, Briggs nodded, "it will be, already. How could I have missed it, he's one of my men?" he asked helplessly. "You can not see it," Morgan said, "just think of the nice neighbor next door, why did no one notice? It´s not written on their foreheads, unfortunately. It would make our job a lot easier, You know. "He petted on Tim's shoulder. "The gang will meet tomorrow night at the" Eight Ball", why won´t You join us?" "perhaps I will," said Briggs.

"I like to talk to You that way," Quinn smiled. She was laying on Aaron's chest and gently stroking over his scars. He held her tight, "it wasn´t intended like that, Quinn," he said softly. He did not know how to begin, so Quinn did it for him. She sat up and looked at Aaron seriously. "I'm not the right person for You, Aaron. And don´t interrupt me now, otherwise, I can´t say what one of us has to. We dared an attempt Aaron. I was wishing so desperately that it would work out for us, but I don´t know anymore who You see when You look at me. I do want You to see only Quinn, but Violet will alway be there. You need someone You can be sure of. Someone who can be a mother to Your son. I can´t be that someone, Aaron. There is too much Violet in me and too little Quinn. You know that, as well as I do. Maybe You want to move up the career ladder, Aaron. You say you hate politics, but I think You could be a much better politician than my former clients if You only want to. With me by Your side this is just impossible." Quinn's voice began to tremble. "Simply put Your Clothes on and leave, Aaron, please," Quinn fled from the bed and locked herself in the bathroom.

She was still crying, long after Hotch had left, she cried because of her loss, herself and over all the deadlock, which made it so impossible for them to be together. To be happy, as Aaron and Quinn.

When Hotch opened his apartment door, Jess was still there. Jess, who was always there. "Hey", she said, and was shocked, "You look terrible, what happened?" Hotch sat silently on the couch and covered his face with his hands. "I'm a coward, Jess, I just left." Jess sat down beside him. "Taking it from the start, it has to do with Quinn, right?" Hotch looked at her in amazement, Jess laughed, "I'm blonde, but not stupid, Aaron. You know she's right," Jess had a rough idea of what had happened. She had spoken to Quinn only once, she had been so very different from expected. Quinn was nice, and Jess had the feeling that Aaron was very important to her. For Jess, it was only a logical consequence of the things that happened, that Quinn broke off the relationship. Even if her heart broke probably into pieces. Jess was filled with compassion for her. Hotch took a deep breath, "It hurts to do the right thing, Jess." He curled up beside Jess, laid his head on her lap and fell asleep. Jess smiled and stroked Aaron's hair, "good night, my love," she said softly.

"Come on, Em, how long does a woman probably need in the bathroom," Morgan grumbled in the bedroom, "I'll start without you, I pro... wow!" Emily entered the bedroom and dimmed the light. She wore a deep red corset with matching stockings and boots that reached above her knees. She had put on an eye mask, in one hand she held the handcuffs in the other Violet´s whip. "I expect You, to do whatever I want You to do," she said with a cheeky smile and threw Derek the handcuffs.

For the third time in a short while Violet entered the Nocturne. Home at last, she thought sarcastically. Anna's notebook was kept safe in a bankcompartment. She couldn´t be happy as Quinn, then perhaps there is a chance as Violet. Dominic greeted her with a big smile, "Hello Vi, I knew we meet again, but take a seat, please." Violet slowly sat down in one of his XXL chairs. "Are you still looking for a partner?" she asked.

That´s it, guys... No happy end for Quinn and Aaron. I´m sorry, but it didn´t feel right. But there ist one for Morgan and Prentiss. Quinn decides to move on as Violet, from her point of view, it makes perfect sense, poor girl.

At last, I would like to thank buddha49 and barb for staying tuned. Maybe I´m coming up with some new stuff, let´s wait and see.


End file.
